Shoe-stretcher.



R. B. OODLING. SHOE STRETGHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1913.

1, 1 07,037, Patented Aug; 11, 1914-.

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ROBERT B. CODLING, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

SHOE-STRETGI-IER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

Application filed May 7, 1913. SerialNo. 766,074.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT B. CODLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Stretch ers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in shoe stretchers, and the object of my 1m provement is to produce a stretcher that can be readily applied to a shoe so as to stretch or enlarge some particular portlon thereof and that furthermore on account of the inherent resiliency in the device is suitable for being retained in position for a considerable period of time and effecting the. stretching desired gradually and wlthout forcibly damaging the material.

In the accompanying drawing F1gure 1 is a plan view of my improved shoe stretcher. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar view of theot-her side. Fig. a is a plan view of the same in opened out position. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the holder. Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view corresponding to Fig. 8 of a modification of my shoe stretcher. Fig. 7 is a similar view of another modification. Fig. 8 is a similar view of the style shown in Fig. 7 provided with a layer of cushioning material. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 10 is a plan view of. another modification of my shoe stretcher. Fig. 11 is a view corresponding to Fig. a and on the same scale, of a modified form of stretcher, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 6. l v

My shoe stretcher comprises a body portion 10 which is made preferably of a strip of sheet spring material formed into U shape of suitable dimensions to be entered within a shoe and havin at the outer side of the end 16 of one of the arms 14. a bearing or distributing member 11 of relatively large extent and at the outer side of the end 15 of the other arm a localizing member 12 of relatively smaller extent. When the stretcher is placed in the shoe the resiliency of the material of the body portion 10 serves to hold the members 11 and 12 in engage-- ment with the walls of the shoe. The distributing member 11 may consist of a strip of leather or rubber, secured to the body portion 10 in any convenient manner, as by adhesive cement or rivets 13, or both, and

serves as a positioning member to positively position the end of the arm 14110 which it is attached and also to distribute the pressure due to the resiliency of the body portion 10 over a relatively large area. The localizing member. 12 may be similarly sccured to the other arm 14, and as stated is relatively of smaller-extent, and accordingly serves to localize the efi'ect of the resiliency of the body portion 10. As a further means of localization the end 15 having the localizing member 12 may be off-set outwardly as shown at ,26.

In use, the localizing member 12 is positioned in contact with a portion of the wall of the shoe that it is desired to have stretched andthe distributing member 11 is positioned at a suitable location to cooperate to hold the localizing member 12 in the position desired. Owing to the relatively large area of the distributing member 11 the effect of the same is limited to such positioning, the pressure effect thereof being spread over a. relatively wide area. The contact portion of the localizing member 12 being relatively small, the effect thereof is relatively greater on the particular spot with which it is in engagement, and will accord-- ingly operate to stretch the material of the wall of the shoe. Furthermore, the effect of the localizing member 12 is intensified by moistenin the leather at the spot on which it is desired to have the same operate. By placing the stretcher in position in the manner described and having the same there for a period, which in some cases may be over night, my stretcher operates to stretch the leather gradually and at such a moderate rate as to do this without injury to the leather.

As a convenience in holding the arms 14; together when not in use and also while insertin the stretcher in the shoe I may use a 1101 er or keeper 18 which is formed of a piece of wire in U-shape having the middle member 19 of length such as to give the desired amount of spread to the arms 14: and the downwardly directed branches 20 at the ends thereof suitable for engaging with the arms 14. The arms 14 may be provided with mating sets of corrugations 21 for receiving and positioning the branches 19.

The distributing member 11 shown in Fig. 6 consists of the surface of the arm 14 roughened to form a gripping surface and the outer surface of the localizing member 12, shown in Fig. 11, is similarly roughened. In some cases some friction material, such as emery may be applied thereto. In Fig. 7 the distributing member 11 consists of the face of the material of the arm 14 roughened to, form agripping surface and held in place by rivets 13 and which are preferably located in the upper and lower fingers 31 In this case the friction material ll may be relatively thin and flexible so as toaccommodate itself to the pressure on the different fingers 31- which would ordinarily vary considerably due to the shape of the portions of the wall of the-shoe that is opposed to the said fingers.

It is apparent that some changes from the specific construction herein disclosed may be made and therefore I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form of'construction shown and described, but desire the liberty to make such changes, in working my invention, as may fairly come within the spirit and scope of the same. For instance, the body portion 10 of spring material may be given a V shapein lieu of the U shape at the apex, as shown in Fig. 10.

I, claim as my invention In a shoe stretcher comprising a spring member having opposed arms, a relatively wide and elongated bearing portion at the free end of one of the said arms and serving as a distributing member, and a relatively small bearing portion at the free end of the other of the said arms and serving as a localizing member, and the said spring member being formed of flat spring material ofuniform width from endto end, and bent into U shape, the outer faces of the free ends-of the said spring material being roughened suitably to serve as the said distributing member and localizing member, and the portion of the said spring material serving as the said localizing member being offset relatively tothe body portion thereof so as to limit the said localizing member in the longitudinal direction of the said spring material;

ROBERT B. CODLING.

Witnesses SHEFFIELD H. CLARKE, ROGER V. EDWARDS.

Copies of this. patent may be obtained for fiveeents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

